New display at the National Maritime Museum • The story of the ships of reparation

Thanks to the "ZIM" donation: a new exhibition was inaugurated at the National Maritime Museum, dedicated to the connection between the reparations agreement and the Israeli merchant navy. On Sunday (9/6/24) a new exhibition was inaugurated at the National Maritime Museum in Haifa, which presents the story of the reparation ships, and is part of the renewed permanent exhibition of Israeli shipping. The establishment of the exhibition was made possible thanks to the donation of Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. to the museum.

Eli Glickman, CEO of Zim, said at the event:

I am proud and happy that we chose to donate to the National Maritime Museum for the benefit of this important and exciting exhibition. The reparations agreement had a decisive effect on the young state of Israel, and in the process the ZIM company, which led the development of the Israeli merchant fleet thanks to the agreement's funds. The exhibition that opened provides a beautiful and interesting look at the past and the future and touches on a subject that usually remains on the fringes of public consciousness. I see great importance in holding on to hope, especially in these days when the precarious national mood affects us all. Until a few years ago Zim was close to bankruptcy, and after several economic recovery measures we took, today the company is ranked 9th in the world in the field of container shipping.

"Blood. Money. Ships"

The opening of the exhibition was part of a seminar held at the National Maritime Museum under the title "Blood. Money. Ships". The symposium dealt with the reparations agreement with Germany as a key growth engine for the Israeli merchant fleet.

The reparations funds were known to be of great importance in the development of the Israeli economy, and they contributed decisively to the development of the Israeli merchant fleet. A significant part of the payment funds, about 17%, was used to order 49 new ships. The payment ships were mostly purchased by "ZIM", which was established in 1945 as Israel's national shipping company. The "Al-Yam" company owned by the Recanati family, which is less known to the general public, was second in size to "Zim" and purchased eight new and especially large cargo ships as part of the agreement.

Yotam Yakir, CEO of Haifa Museums, said at the event:

The story of the National Maritime Museum is a story about a jug and what is in it. The jug - hard to digest for me too, until the building is renovated, which unfortunately is currently in a rather shameful state. The "what is in it" - definitely deserves a good word. In the last two years, we renovated and established 8 exhibition complexes, established a unique conservation laboratory that is open to public viewing, and more. The National Maritime Museum has formulated a clear line of engagement in three core issues: Hebrew shipping and ports, sustainability, ecology and the environment; and the history of the Mediterranean basin. The exhibition we are opening today is actually the first chapter in the exhibition that is being built in stages about Hebrew shipping. In addition, there are many activities here for children and families throughout the year. A big thank you to Zim for helping us and to Israel Ports for a project that will be launched this year.

Renewal of the tradition of the "Day of the Sea" celebrations

The symposium was held for the third year, as part of the renewal of the tradition of celebrating the "Day of the Sea", which was customary in Israel and the Diaspora from the mid-30s to the mid-50s of the past century. The event took place in collaboration between the National Maritime Museum and the Institute for Maritime Policy and Strategy at the Center for Blue Economy and Innovation in Haifa.

According to Adi Shelah, the curator of the National Maritime Museum:

The new display tells the stories of the ships that were purchased with the reparations money. Whether these are luxurious passenger ships for their time and superbly designed, which were new in the modest Israeli landscape, or whether these are the merchant ships, which connected young Israel to the world economy. The display also includes stories and anecdotes that accompanied those years, advertising brochures and visual images illustrating the material culture of the time.